In Over My Head
by Frost Hobbit
Summary: Avery Carpenter witnesses a murder, and, along with the victim's young daughter, finds herself the killer's next target. She turns to Eliot to help her outrun the killer and keep the little girl safe.


**A/N Another fic in the ongoing saga of Avery Carpenter. This one is the first of several chapters - not sure yet how many there will be. Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Leverage.  
**

Avery wasn't supposed to have ended up here. The simple matter of selling a con had gotten way too much, and now she was in a garage behind the airport, watching Hal Coleman's men point way too many guns straight at Daniel Sullivan.

Coleman's men hadn't seen her yet. She was early for their appointment, and when she'd seen the guns she'd ducked out of sight, behind the wheels of an airplane parked there. She waited, her heart pounding. There sometimes came a time when blowing her cover would be the morally right thing to do. Of course, exposing herself now she'd probably be throwing herself under the bus along with Sullivan.

Daniel Sullivan was a reporter who had spent the past few months trying to expose politician Hal Coleman's illegal activity, which included both giving and receiving bribes, and based on the scene Avery now saw before her, probably kidnapping and potentially murder. She certainly wouldn't put any of this past Coleman after spending the past few days with him and his men.

Avery strained her ears to hear what was going on.

"Mr. Coleman's very concerned about that little article you wrote about him," said one of Coleman's men. Avery recognized him. His name was Browning, and he was Coleman's second in command, which was a nice way of saying lapdog. In the week Avery had spent running a scam on the politician, she had learned that Browning was willing to do anything Coleman asked him to.

"I already told you, it's not being published!" Sullivan's voice sounded scared, pleading.

"The problem is, Sullivan, we don't like leaving any loose ends," Browning said coldly.

"No!" Sullivan said loudly. "Please! I promise, the article won't be published! I have a family – a daughter – "

"Daddy?"

Avery whipped her head around. A small girl was wandering through the garage. Her blond hair was in a long braid, and she clutched a teddy bear in her arms.

Sullivan jerked his head upward. "Claire?"

Browning advanced on Sullivan. "I told you not to bring anyone!"

"Please, she must have followed me!" Sullivan said. "We just got off our flight, I asked her to wait, but – "

"Find her," Browning ordered his men. "No loose ends."

"No!" Sullivan shouted, starting to move, but Browning cocked his gun.

"Don't move!" Browning snarled.

Avery stepped out from behind her hiding place. Browning and his men couldn't see her, but Sullivan met her eyes. Ever so slightly, Avery saw him mouth the word "please." She knew he had no idea who she was – but she was probably the only hope he had of his daughter getting out safely.

Avery ducked and ran. The sound of her heels on the cement made Browning look over. "Hey!"

She heard Browning ordering his men after her, then she heard a gunshot. She didn't look back or stop running until she found the little girl crouched around a corner, looking terrified. Avery seized her hand. "My name's Avery. No time to explain, but you need to run!" The girl paused uncertainly. "Go! Now!" Avery shouted.

She watched the girl run away, then turned around to face Browning and his men. "Hey, boys!" she called, hitching a bright smile onto her face. "Taking things a little bit too far, don't you think? Kidnap and murder? Tell Coleman I'm not sure we can reach an agreement if – "

Browning grabbed her by the throat, choking her off midsentence. "You're in way over your head, Miss Levinson." He tilted his head. "Or should I say Carpenter? Avery Carpenter? You know, your cover was really outstanding. Practically flawless, but lucky for us we check out our benefactors very well. Ran a facial recognition scan and turns out there was a warrant out for the arrest of one Avery Carpenter a few years back." He tightened his grip on her throat. "Think you can run a scam on Hal Coleman and not get caught?"

Everything clicked into place. They hadn't asked her to meet them here to discuss business. This was no negotiation. This was supposed to be an execution. With concerted effort, Avery broke the hold he had on her throat and started running, the same direction she'd sent Sullivan's daughter. Never realized how much the self-defense she'd learned from Eliot would come in handy. She pulled her heels off as she ran. When she caught up with the little girl, Avery scooped her up and kept running. A week with these men had taught her exactly what they were capable of.

She made it out of the airplane garage and dove for her car. She yanked the back door open and pushed the kid into the backseat, then scrambled into the front seat herself.

There was a zing, the unmistakable sound of a gun being fired with a silencer, and Avery ducked. The bullet cracked her windshield and went straight through the back. Squinting ahead, she saw one of Browning's accomplices. "Claire, right?" Avery said to the girl.

"Yes," Claire said nervously.

"Claire, I'm gonna take care of you but I need you to buckle up and hold on tight!" Avery floored the gas and drove straight at the gunman. He dove out of the way at the last second. "Claire, get down!" Avery shouted to the girl, sure that the man would fire more bullets at the car. She saw the man raise the gun again and drove faster, tearing out of the dark parking lot and into the street.

Her heart pounded. She didn't know where to go. If they knew her name, they could know anything and everything - her address, phone number – oh God, Olivia. Avery's knuckles whitened as she clutched the steering wheel. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Claire, curled into a trembling little ball with her arms tight around her teddy bear. "You okay?" she asked, shocked by how much her voice shook.

Claire nodded. "Who are you?"

"I'm a – " Avery paused. There was nothing she could say to a kid to make her trust a stranger. Most kids were taught from an early age not to trust anyone they didn't know. However, she figured since she was a small, young woman, she probably looked less scary to Claire than the tall, burly men who had chased them did. "I'm one of the good guys, Claire, I promise." She met Claire's eyes in the mirror. "I-I'm gonna pull over and make a phone call, okay? Then we're gonna go somewhere safe."

She pulled into the well-lit parking lot of a grocery store and grabbed her cell phone. Hands shaking, she dialed Eliot's number. For the love of God, she hoped he answered.

He finally answered after four rings. "Hello?" his gruff voice said.

"Eliot, it's Avery," she said, trying to keep her voice steady for the kid's sake. "I need – I'm sorry, it's really late, did I wake you up?"

"No," he said. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Avery searched for the right words to explain the situation without scaring Claire any further. "I just got shot at. Um…some things went bad. My mark had his men run facial recognition on me and they found out I had a warrant out for my arrest and, um – " She glanced into the backseat at Claire. The girl was staring out the window, biting her fingernails and didn't seem to be listening. Avery dropped her voice. "I may have witnessed a murder. I'm not sure. But they want me dead and I don't know what to do."

Eliot was silent for a long moment. "Is your apartment safe?" he finally asked.

"I don't know," Avery said helplessly. "They know my name, Eliot. They could know anything."

"Okay, listen, this is what you're gonna do," he said. "You're gonna drive to your apartment. I'll meet you in the parking lot. If I'm not there when you get there, don't go upstairs; lock your car and wait for me."

"Okay." Avery swallowed hard. "Um, Eliot? It's not just me. There's a little girl with me. Her name is Claire, and I think – they might have just murdered her father. She was there in the garage with me. She isn't safe either."

"Fine," Eliot said. "I'll meet both of you, then. Ten minutes. Do not get out of the car when you get there. Wait for me, you got that?"

"Got it," Avery said, letting out a sigh. She had stopped shaking and her heartbeat had calmed down since getting Eliot on the phone. If nothing else, she trusted Eliot to keep her from getting killed.

Ten minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building and stopped the car. Moments later, another car pulled into the lot and parked a few spaces away. Looking closely, Avery thought she could recognize two of the men who had been at the garage. She locked the car doors. Claire reached for her seatbelt. "Don't," Avery said. She bit her lip. "We don't know who's out there. Wait for my friend."

An excruciating two minutes later, Eliot approached the car and knocked on her window. Avery rolled it down and looked up at him. He leaned against the windowsill. "You okay?"

"For now," Avery said. She gestured into the backseat. "Eliot, this is Claire. Claire, this is my friend Eliot. He's another one of the good guys, okay?"

Eliot waved at Claire and smiled. "Hi, Claire. Your bear got a name?"

Claire shook her head. "Just Bear." She slouched down in her seat, burying her face against Bear's back.

Eliot looked back at Avery. "You know anything new?"

Avery cut her eyes to the car that had followed them to the building. "They're following me."

"I can deal with that." He patted the side of the car. "Roll up the window and don't move until I get back."

Eliot returned a few minutes later, wiping blood away from his lip. Avery unlocked the door and got out. "What happened?"

"Nothin' I couldn't handle," Eliot said. He shook his hair out of his face. "I took care of the two guys who followed you here, but they'll wake up eventually and they know where you live." He looked at Avery cautiously. "I don't know what you two are mixed up in or how big this goes – "

"Hal Coleman," Avery said. "That big."

"Hal Coleman, the politician?" Eliot shook his head. "You're fucking insane. Listen, you're not safe here, so is it okay if you come back to my place for tonight, at least?"

"Absolutely," Avery said. "If it's okay if Claire…."

Eliot's eyes fell on the little girl in the backseat. "How'd you end up with the kid?"

"Her dad was the one Coleman's men were going to kill before they executed me," Avery said in a small voice. Her voice shook on the word "executed" no matter how much she tried to prevent it, but why not? That's what it had been – an execution. If Daniel Sullivan was dead, and Avery was pretty sure he was, it wasn't an accident or even just a murder; he had been executed.

"Is he dead?" Eliot asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't know for sure, I didn't see," Avery whispered back. "But I heard a gunshot. I think so."

Eliot looked at her searchingly. "Sure you're okay?"

Avery rubbed her eyes, getting rid of any hint of tears that might have gathered there. "Fine," she said briskly. "Long night."

Eliot looked like he didn't believe her, but he nodded. "Okay," he said. "Let's go. I don't wanna risk anyone else trying to follow you here."

xxx

Claire fell asleep on the way to Eliot's place, so he carried her into the building. "Listen," he said as they walked in, "tomorrow I'm gonna call the team and let them know what's going on. This is our kind of job, and you'll be safer if you've got the rest of us lookin' out for you too."

"That's fine," Avery said. She walked around the corner and sat down on one of Eliot's couches, rubbing her forehead. Eliot gently laid Claire down beside her. "We should let her sleep in the bedroom," Avery said, looking from Claire to Eliot. "She should at least be in a bed. Something resembling a normal life."

"Her dad just got shot," Eliot said. "There's not going to be much normal about her life from now on."

"Exactly." Avery tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, and she couldn't even go home. The only thing she had with her was her duffel bag, which contained one change of clothes and a t-shirt she could sleep in. She loathed being away from her apartment and not being able to access her own clothes, her shoes, her shampoo, even her own food. It was petty and ridiculous, but she couldn't help it.

Eliot reached over and touched her shoulder, surprisingly gently. "You and I can sleep in here, on the couches," he said. "That okay?"

"I could sleep anywhere, believe me."

Eliot grinned, then picked Claire up again. Surprisingly, she didn't wake up. It had been a long day for her too. "I'm gonna put her into bed and make sure all the doors and windows are locked. I'll be right back, all right?"

"I can handle a few minutes by myself, Eliot," Avery said, trying to sound annoyed but lacking the energy.

Eliot shrugged at her and left. While he was gone, Avery took off her dress and pulled on the oversized t-shirt instead. He returned a few minutes later carrying pillows and blankets, and tossed a pillow to her. She immediately placed it on the couch and laid down, curling up as best she could.

Eliot haphazardly draped a blanket over her body. "Go to sleep," he said.

"You're not very good at this tucking-people-in thing," Avery said, closing her eyes.

"Haven't had much experience," he answered, arranging himself on the couch opposite her. "You gonna be able to sleep?"

"Yeah. Hope so."

"We'll figure things out in the morning," he said after a brief pause. "Don't worry."

"I'm not," Avery lied through her teeth. She cracked an eye open. "Eliot?"

"What?"

"Thanks for doing this. You didn't have to."

Eliot sighed. "Yeah, I did, actually."

Avery smiled to herself. Eliot leaned over and turned off the lamp. "Now shut up and get some rest."


End file.
